POOLS

About POOLS

POOLS is made by Tensori, a small team in Finland. It came out on PC through Steam, GOG, the Epic Games Store and itch.io in April 2024, on iPhone and iPad in November 2025, on PlayStation 5 with PlayStation VR2 support in November 2025, and on Nintendo Switch in February 2026. The Steam version also supports VR.

The makers describe it as more like an art gallery than a game. You walk, look around and listen. There is no interface, no dialogue, no notes and no background music: only the sound of your footsteps, the echo of each room and the slosh of water as you wade through it. The world is tiled pool halls, slides, narrow passages and lit doorways, inspired by the Poolrooms images of the Backrooms legend and the found-footage videos around them.

There are no monsters chasing you and nothing jumps at the screen, and the store page says so plainly. Yet the game can feel oppressive. It plays on fears of getting lost, of the dark and of tight spaces, and as you go deeper the rooms begin to look and feel different. The base game has six chapters of ten to thirty minutes each.

Players rate it very highly on Steam. It suits anyone drawn to the Backrooms and Poolrooms images, and players who want unease without jumpscares.

How to play POOLS

1. Walk through the pool rooms at your own pace; there is no interface to read.
2. Listen: the echoes and water sounds change from room to room.
3. Find your way through the mazes and passages to the end of each chapter.
4. Wade through water where you must; it slows you down.
5. Play in VR on PC or PlayStation VR2 if you have a headset.

Tips

• Play with headphones; sound is the whole atmosphere.
• If you feel lost, that is intended; keep exploring.
• Take breaks between chapters; each is a self-contained trip.
• Turn off the lights in your room for the full effect.

Questions